Swami Vivekanand International SSC School, Borivali, took a vital step towards the final by getting a 103 first innings lead against Rizvi Springfield High School Bandra in the semifinal of the 124th Giles Shield U-14 Dream Sports MSSA Inter-School Cricket Tournament at MCA's BKC ground on Wednesday. Dnyandeep Seva Mandal Primary and Secondary School became the first team to enter the final after defeating IES VN Sule Guruji English Medium School by 178 runs at Parsee Gymkhana on Wednesday. The final will be held at the Brabourne Stadium from January 20-22.
SVIS bowlers complemented their batters' effort by bowling out Rizvi for 214 in 79.1 overs. Off-spinner Kartik Chhajer stood out by taking 4 for 62 after bowling 32 overs, with Mumbai Cricket Association's Junior Selection Committee member Prashant Sawant watching the brilliance from Chhajer and his teammates. Chhajer had also scored 77 to power SVIS to 317/5 in their first innings. Shauryakant Upadhyaya (81) and Sanchit Gawade (73) were also the major contributors.
For Rizvi, Sujal Khot (42), Kartike Sharma (49), and Arnav Kamble (37) got starts, but they couldn't carry on. At stumps, SVIS were 30/2 in 13.4 overs, increasing their lead further to 133 runs with 26.4 overs still to go. Rizvi will have to chase the target set by SVIS in 40 overs to get the decision in their favour. They got a little boost by getting a wicket on what turned out to be the last ball of the day, which made Rizvi's coach
Amol Ghag is a bit optimistic.
"We are ready to chase any target. In cricket, anything can happen. You saw what happened in the Harris Shield semifinal last month," said Ghag, referring to Al Barkaat MMI's successful chase of 290against General Education Academy, Chembur at DY Patil stadium. However, the BKC ground saw some turn on Wednesday, and scoring won't be easy on the final day wicket on Thursday.
Dnyandeep held the upper hand in the contest against VN Sule Guruji and posted 218-7 in their 40 overs on Wednesday. Neil Naik, who scored 95 in the first innings, made 89 runs in 110 balls with 11 fours. The youngster grabbed the Man of the Match award. Lavish Singh scored 66 runs, and left-arm spinner Jay Mhatre picked three wickets. During the final innings, VN Sule only managed 149-7 in 40 overs with Devang Koli making an unbeaten 63. VN Sule Guruji had managed 231-7 in their allotted 80 overs in the first innings, chasing Dnyandeep's 340 all out in 75.1 overs.
Brief Scores
Semi Final 1
Dnyandeep Seva Mandal’s Primary & Secondary School: 340 all out in 75.1 overs (Anup Yadav 127, Neil Naik 95, Shivam Singh 41; Sharvil Nalawade 5/94, Aaradhya Kadam 3/59, Jay Mhatre 2/62) and 218-7 in 40 overs (Neil Naik 89, Lavish Singh 66, Jay Mhatre 3/16) beat
VN Sule Guruji English Medium School: 231-7 in 80 overs (Swarn Katkar 103*, Devang Koli 43, Vivek Yadav 30; Lavish Singh 4/63) and 49-7 in 40 overs (Devang Koli 63*, Swarn Katkar 45) by 178 runs
Semi Final 2
Swami Vivekanand International School: 317-5 in 80 overs (Shouryakant Upadhyaya 81, Kartik Chhajar 77, Sanchit Gawade 73, Prajwal Taware 41, Abdullah Khatri 2/125) and 30-2 in 13.4 overs
Rizvi Springfield SSC: 214 all out in 79.1 overs (Kartike Sharma 49, Sujal Khot 42, Arnav Kamble 37; Kartik Chhajer 4/62)
